Brent hits 18-year low, U.S. crude dips below $20/bbl

Global oil benchmark Brent crude plunged to its cheapest in 18 years on Monday, while U.S. crude briefly tumbled below $20 per barrel, on heightened fears that the global coronavirus shutdown could last months and demand for fuel could decline further. The market extended losses after data provider Genscape reported that U.S. stockpiles at Cushing in Oklahoma rose more than 4 million barrels last week, which was the biggest-one week increase in more than 10 years. With Saudi Arabia and Russia set to flood the market with oil next month, producers and shippers have been scrambling to lock oil up in storage as demand falls due to the coronavirus pandemic.